Shot trap for air rifle targets



p 9 6- 1 H. E. COLE 2,397,921

SHOT TRAP FOR AIR RIFLE TARGETS Filed May 12, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 21INVENTOR- Harry E. Cole BY W ATTORNEY April 9, 1946. H. E. COLE2,397,921

SHOT TRAP FOR AIR RIFLE TARGETS Filed May 12, '1942 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 3lINVENTOR;

Harry E Co1e Patented Apr. 9, 1946 v .T 2. 2

UNITED STATE PATENT orrice sno'r TRAP FOR Am RIFLE TARGETS Harry E.Cole, Akron, Ohio Application May 12, 1942, Serial No. 442,610 '1 Claims(01. 273'2.4)

This invention relates to shot traps'for air rifle targets.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive fabricshot trap, particularly for use in target practice with spring pressureair rifles, and by means of which a maximum of shot will be retrievedwith a minimum of damage by penetration of the shot through the fabricof the trap.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shot trap of thecharacter described including a shot-retrieving hood in combination withimproved means for supporting the same whereby the hood may be made ofrelatively thin, inexpensive fabric.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a shot trap of thecharacter described which may be quickly assembled for use, and which isreadily collapsible to compact size, as for storage or packing.

These and other objects of the invention will be manifest from thefollowing brief description and the accompanying drawings.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a shot trap embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-section, on an enlarged scale, taken substantiallyon line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the upper righthand corner portion of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a view illustrating the manner of collapsing and folding tocompact size the complete apparatus shown in Figures 1 to 4.

Figure 6 is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, illustrating amodified form of the invention.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, the numeral l0designates a hood of flexible fabric, which may be in the shape of asquare pyramid, with upper and lower walls II and I2 and side walls I3and I4 converging rearwardly toward an apex IS. A baffle or flap In offlexible fabric may be provided across the opening of hood H! at thebottom thereof to provide a pocket for retaining shot, this bafilepreferably extending upwardly approximately a sufficient distance, sayslightly less than half the depth of the hood opening, to retain shotwhich might otherwise be deflected outwardly off the walls of the hood.

The hood I0 is supported at the front thereof by means of a U-shapedframe l6 comprising a cross-piece I1 and two side portions [8 and I9which are received through hems along the top and side edges,respectively, at the opening of the hood. The frame I6 may be formed ofnormally straight rods of flexible material, such as wood or metal, thecross-piece I1 being connected to the side portions I8 and 19 as bymeans of flexible rubber tubing 20, as best shown in Figures 2 and 4, topermit folding the frame in a manner to be described later. The uppercorners of the hood are cut away to facilitate said folding action.

The lower ends of the side rods l1 and I8 may extend downwardly of thebottom edge of the hood opening to be received in apertures 2|, 2| inthe outer ends of a pair of arms 22, 22 which are miter-joined at theother ends and releasably connected, as by means of a thumbscrew 23, toform a V-shaped supporting base, generally indicated at 24.

The hood l0 may be maintained in distended condition, preferably withthe walls ll, I2, I 3 and I4 relatively loose or untaut, by means of arod 25 extended between the top of baffle Ill and the apex l5 of thehood. The hood I0 is supported as described above so that the bottom'wall I2 thereof will incline downwardly toward the baffle l0.

Secured to the top of hood I0 at the front thereof is a looped cord 21,on which may be hung a target 28 having thereon the usual indiciaincluding a bulls-eye 28*. For this purpose the card 28 has a V-shapedflap 28 punched therein and adapted to be hooked over the cord 21. Indirect line with the bulls-eye, rearwardly thereof, is suspended a metaldisc 29 which will give an audible signal when a shot from an air riflehas passed through the bulls-eye 28 of the target.

In use of the above described shot trap for target practice with springpressure air rifie, as'an example, fired at normal ranges, shot uponstriking the untaut top or side walls of the hood ID will dropsubstantially directly to the sloped bottom wall l2 and roll to thepocket formed by the baflie I0 The yielding nature of the supportingframe l6 absorbs a substantial amount of the shock applied to the wallsof the hood by the shot, which, together with theuntaut condition of thewalls of the hood, greatly minimizes possibility of shot being deflectedoutwardly of the hood opening, as well as minimizing the possibility ofthe shot penetrating the walls of the hood. Moreover, the improvedconstruction makes possible the use of a relatively thin, inexpensivefabric for the hood, such as muslin or cotton, as compared with canvasor duck, for example.

When the apparatus is not in use for target practice, after firstremoving the targets 28 and 29, rod 25 is removed and the rods I8 and I9are withdrawn from the apertures 2| in base 24,

which is collapsed by releasing the thumbscrew 23. By folding the rodsl8 and I9 inwardly about the flexible joints 20, the hood may be foldedand rolled into a compact bundle containing the rods of frame IS, thearms 22 and rod 25, as illustrated in Figure 5.

In Figure 6 is shown a modified form of the resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit I thereof or the scope of the appended claim.

invention which is similar to the shot trap shown in Figures 1 to 5 inall respects, except that in place of rod 25 the hood is yieldinglymaintained in substantially untaut distended condition by means of anelastic or resilient member 30, such asa, strip of rubber, extendedbetweenthe apex 15 of the hood land a rod 3| mounted on the V-shapedbase 24.. The rod 3| may be utilized to join the arms 22, 22 of base 24together at the apex thereof in place of the thumbscrew 23' (see Figure3).

Other modifications of the invention may be What is, claimed is: A shottrap for air rifle targets, comprising a flexible fabric hood having afront opening and I from said hood, means for mounting said frame onsaid base, and means for yieldingly retaining said hood in rearwardlydistended condition, said supporting base comprising a pair of arms andmeans for releasably connecting the same in the form of a V, saidmounting means comprising apertures in the outer ends of the arms ofsaid base for receiving the lower ends of said side portions of theframe said U shaped frame constituting'the sole support for theopen endof said hood upon said base.

' HARRY E. COLE.

